Boom - Sabrina Stark Page 0,113

looked, he was just about to get into his car – the same one he'd been driving on the day I'd tried to walk Willow home.

At the sight of him, I felt my jaw clench. He might not know it, but he wasn't leaving – not without hearing a little something from me first.

Chapter 66

Arden

Without bothering to put on my shoes, I bolted barefoot out the front door of the crew house.

Already, Mason had opened his car door as if preparing to leave.

Not so fast, Buddy.

I called out, "Hey!"

He turned to look. At the sight of me stalking toward him, he frowned.

Without breaking my stride, I yelled, "Don't you dare leave!"

He was wearing dark slacks, a dress shirt, and a tie. No jacket. Still, he looked exactly like the person he was – a rich, ruthless bastard who cared for no one beyond his own family.

And yet, he waited, looking only mildly impatient, as I crossed the street and joined him in the driveway.

Without wasting any time, I said, "So how's Willow?"

"Fine."

"Really?" I said. "Even after her 'near-death' experience?"

His eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"The way I hear it," I said, "I almost killed her." My tone grew sarcastic. "That must've been pretty traumatic for all of you."

His mouth tightened. "Yes. It was."

I almost rolled my eyes. "I was being sarcastic, as you darn well know."

"It's no joke," he said.

"Well it's not funny. I'll grant you that. But you must be joking if you think I would've done anything to harm her. Do you realize, she showed up on my doorstep with no adult in sight?"

I gave him a hard look. "And where were you when all of this happened?" Before he could even think of responding, I added, "And just so you know, your nanny sucks. Do you realize, she actually told Willow that she doesn't like being a nanny? Can you imagine how that makes Willow feel?"

I made a sound of disgust. "And then, the nanny freaking loses track of her. What's up with that? And what's up with you? Where were you when your kid's wandering around on her own?"

Now that I was going, I couldn't seem to make myself stop. "Oh, and here's another thing," I continued. "Is she your daughter? Or your little sister? Because it seems to me, that detail's pretty darn important in the big scheme of things."

Thinking of Brody, I swallowed an unexpected lump in my throat. "I mean, I should've known. Maybe not from you, but I'm just saying…"

I sighed. "I don't know what I'm saying. Not about that. But about the rest of it, I don't appreciate being made the villain here. Willow, she's a great kid. And super smart, too. And I never would've harmed her regardless of what you might think."

By now, I was nearly breathless, whether from talking nonstop or from all of the conflicting emotions swirling around in my head. I was so angry, I could hardly think. And yet, through all of that anger, I still felt the dull ache of loss – the loss of Brody of all people, although for the life of me, I couldn’t imagine why.

As for Mason, he looked way too composed as he stared down at me. After a long moment of silence, he asked, "You done?"

"I guess." I shrugged. "For now."

I half expected him to simply get into his car and drive off without telling me squat. But to my surprise, he didn't. Instead, he said, "You're right about the nanny."

I blinked. I knew I was right. Still, it felt obscenely good to hear him admit it. "Really?'

"And she's gone," he said. "So don't worry about it."

"So she quit?"

"No. Fired and replaced."

"Oh. Well, that's good." I hesitated. "Is the new one any better?"

"Ask me in a month," he said, not looking too hopeful.

"So…" I bit my lip. "Willow…is she your daughter? Or…?"

"I'm her dad," he said. "And that's all you need to know."

"But that's not true," I protested. "I do need to know."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

It was a good question. But the answer was too complicated for me to put into words, so all I said was, "I just do. It's important."

He studied my face for several beats before saying, "I'm both."

"Sorry, what?"

"I'm her dad. And her brother."

Eauw. "Really?"

He gave me a look. "I'm not talking biology."

"Oh. Of course not." I winced. "Sorry. And, uh, you were saying?"

"She's my sister. But yeah, I'm the only 'dad' she's ever known."

"So…Does she know that you're really her brother?"

"She knows."

"But she calls you her